Methods and systems for measuring semiconductor devices

ABSTRACT

Semiconductor devices having measurement features and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a plurality of stacked semiconductor dies each having measurement features formed along an outer periphery of a surface thereof. One or more image capture devices can image the semiconductor device and a controller can detect the measurement features in imaging data received from the image capture devices. The controller can further determine the distance between two or more of the measurement features to estimate a bond line thickness between semiconductor dies in the stack.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/233,728, titled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MEASURING SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES,” filed Dec. 27, 2018; which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology generally relates to semiconductor devices, andmore particularly relates to semiconductor devices including measurementfeatures for determining a die-to-die separation between stackedsemiconductor dies, and associated systems and methods.

BACKGROUND

Packaged semiconductor dies, including memory chips, microprocessorchips, and imager chips, typically include a semiconductor die mountedon a substrate and encased in a protective covering. The semiconductordie includes functional features, such as memory cells, processorcircuits, and imager devices, as well as bond pads electricallyconnected to the functional features. The bond pads can be electricallyconnected to terminals outside the protective covering to allow thesemiconductor die to be connected to higher level circuitry. Within somepackages, semiconductor dies can be stacked upon and electricallyconnected to one another by individual interconnects placed betweenadjacent semiconductor dies. In such packages, each interconnect caninclude a conductive material (e.g., solder) and a pair of contacts onopposing surfaces of adjacent semiconductor dies. For example, a metalsolder can be placed between the contacts and reflowed to form aconductive joint.

One challenge with such traditional packages is that significantvariation can exist in the thickness of the solder joints of eachinterconnect. For example, the solder joint thickness can vary if, forexample, variations in heat and/or force exist during a bondingoperation to form the interconnects. This can affect the quality of theinterconnects, for example, by leading to an open-circuit across thesolder joints, high ohmic resistance across the solder joints, or solderbridging between nearby interconnects. The varying solder jointthickness can also cause the stacked semiconductor dies to warp or beput out of parallel planar alignment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present technology can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed on illustratingclearly the principles of the present technology.

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a semiconductor die assembly inaccordance embodiments of the present technology.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are enlarged side cross-sectional views of thesemiconductor die assembly of FIG. 1 at various stages in a method ofmanufacture in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 3 is a top cross-sectional view of the semiconductor die assemblyof FIG. 1 in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a semiconductor die assembly in accordance withembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a system for measuring a semiconductor dieassembly in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 6 is a is a flow diagram of a process or method for measuring asemiconductor die assembly in accordance with embodiments of the presenttechnology.

FIGS. 7A-7C are graphs illustrating bond line thickness data for asemiconductor die assembly in accordance with embodiments of the presenttechnology.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a system that includes a semiconductordevice configured in accordance with embodiments of the presenttechnology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific details of several embodiments of semiconductor devices havingmeasurement features for determining a separation between stackedsemiconductor dies, and associated systems and methods, are describedbelow. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that suitablestages of the methods described herein can be performed at the waferlevel or at the die level. Therefore, depending upon the context inwhich it is used, the term “substrate” can refer to a wafer-levelsubstrate or to a singulated, die-level substrate. Furthermore, unlessthe context indicates otherwise, structures disclosed herein can beformed using conventional semiconductor-manufacturing techniques.Materials can be deposited, for example, using chemical vapordeposition, physical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, spincoating, and/or other suitable techniques. Similarly, materials can beremoved, for example, using plasma etching, wet etching,chemical-mechanical planarization, or other suitable techniques. Aperson skilled in the relevant art will also understand that thetechnology may have additional embodiments, and that the technology maybe practiced without several of the details of the embodiments describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 1-8.

In several of the embodiments described below, a semiconductor dieassembly includes a first semiconductor die, a second semiconductor diestacked over the first semiconductor die, and a plurality ofinterconnects electrically coupling an upper surface of the firstsemiconductor die to a lower surface of the second semiconductor die.The first semiconductor die includes a plurality of first measurementfeatures on the upper surface of the first semiconductor die andadjacent to at least one side of the first semiconductor die. The secondsemiconductor die includes a plurality of second measurement features onan upper surface of the second semiconductor die and adjacent to atleast one side of the second semiconductor die. The distances betweencorresponding ones of the pluralities of first and second measurementfeatures can correspond to the separation of the first and secondsemiconductor dies and/or to the thickness of the interconnects (e.g.,to a solder joint thickness of the interconnects). In some embodiments,the semiconductor die assembly can be imaged and the measurementfeatures detected in the image to determine the thickness of theinterconnects, a degree of warpage of the semiconductor dies, a degreeof parallelism of the semiconductor dies, etc. Thus, the presenttechnology can advantageously facilitate measurements of a semiconductordie assembly to, for example, assess the quality of a thermo-compressionbonding (TCB) operation.

In contrast, conventional techniques for measuring die-to-die separationgenerally require a destructive mechanical cross-section of arepresentative semiconductor die assembly. Such cross-sections arewasteful, costly, and reduce the yield of a semiconductor devicemanufacturing process. Another conventional technique includes assessingthe quality of a TCB operation based on electrical data from asemiconductor die assembly. However, the requisite electrical data isoften unobtainable until fabrication of the semiconductor die assemblyis complete—which can be significantly after a TCB operation.

As used herein, the terms “vertical,” “lateral,” “upper,” and “lower”can refer to relative directions or positions of features in thesemiconductor devices in view of the orientation shown in the Figures.For example, “upper” or “uppermost” can refer to a feature positionedcloser to the top of a page than another feature. These terms, however,should be construed broadly to include semiconductor devices havingother orientations, such as inverted or inclined orientations wheretop/bottom, over/under, above/below, up/down, and left/right can beinterchanged depending on the orientation. The headings provided hereinare for convenience only and should not be construed as limiting thesubject matter disclosed.

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a semiconductor die assembly100 (“assembly 100”) configured in accordance with embodiments of thepresent technology. The assembly 100 includes a first semiconductor die102 a and a second semiconductor die 102 b adjacent to (e.g., stackedover) the first semiconductor die 102 a. The semiconductor dies 102 eachinclude a first (e.g., lower) surface 103 a and a second (e.g., upper)surface 103 b opposite the first surface 103 a. The assembly 100 alsoincludes an array of individual interconnects 104 extending verticallybetween the second surface 103 b of the first semiconductor die 102 aand the first surface 103 a of the second semiconductor die 102 b. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the interconnects 104 each include a firstconductive feature (e.g., a conductive pad 110) on the second surface103 b of the first semiconductor die 102 a, a second conductive feature(e.g., a conductive pillar 112) on the first surface 103 a of the secondsemiconductor die 102 b, and a bond material 114 bonding the conductivepillar 112 to the conductive pad 110. In some embodiments, the assembly100 can include a smaller or greater number of interconnects 104 thanshown in FIG. 1. For example, the assembly 100 can include tens,hundreds, thousands, or more interconnects 104 arrayed between thesemiconductor dies 102. In some embodiments, the interconnects 104 havea total height or thickness (also known to those skilled in the art as a“bond line thickness”) of between about 20-35 μm. In certainembodiments, the conductive pillars 112 have a thickness of betweenabout 10-30 μm (e.g., about 18 μm) and the conductive pads 110 have athickness of between about 1-5 μm (e.g., about 4 μm).

The assembly 100 further includes first measurement features (e.g.,first fiducial markers) 132 a on the second surface 103 b of the firstsemiconductor die 102 a and second measurement features (e.g., secondfiducial markers) 132 b on the second surface 103 b of the secondsemiconductor die 102 b. As described in further detail below withreference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the measurement features 132 are positionedon the second surfaces 103 b of the semiconductor dies 102 proximate to(e.g., adjacent to) a perimeter of the semiconductor dies 102. In someembodiments, the measurement features 132 are not electrically coupledto the semiconductor dies 102. In certain embodiments, the measurementfeatures 132 can be formed as an extension of the metallization processused to form the conductive pads 110. For example, the measurementfeatures 132 and conductive pads 110 can be formed at the sameprocessing stage and/or simultaneously during a suitable masking andplating process. Accordingly, at least some of the characteristics ofthe measurement features 132 and the conductive pads 110 can be the sameor substantially similar. For example, the measurement features 132 canhave the same or substantially the same thickness as the conductive pads110 and, in some embodiments, the measurement features 132 have athickness of between about 1-5 μm (e.g., about 4 μm). Similarly, themeasurement features 132 can comprise the same metal material (e.g.,copper, nickel, gold, silicon, tungsten, etc.) as the conductive pads110.

As further shown in FIG. 1, each of the semiconductor dies 102 includesa semiconductor substrate 106 (e.g., a silicon substrate, a galliumarsenide substrate, an organic laminate substrate, etc.) andthrough-substrate vias (TSVs) 108 extending through the substrate 106from the first side 103 a to the second side 103 b of the semiconductordie 102. The TSVs 108 are coupled to corresponding ones of theinterconnects 104 and, in some embodiments, the TSVs 108 can be coupledto substrate pads, a redistribution layer, and/or other conductivefeatures (not shown) located on either side of the semiconductorsubstrate 106. Each substrate 106 can include integrated circuitrycoupled to one or more of the TSVs 108. The integrated circuitry caninclude, for example, a memory circuit (e.g., a dynamic random memory(DRAM)), a controller circuit (e.g., a DRAM controller), a logiccircuit, and/or other circuits.

In the illustrated embodiment, the assembly 100 includes twosemiconductor dies 102. In other embodiments, however, the assembly 100can include a different number of semiconductor dies, such as threedies, four dies, eight dies, sixteen dies, or more. For example, theassembly 100 can include a third semiconductor die 102 c (shown inhidden lines) on the second semiconductor die 102 b, and a fourthsemiconductor die 102 d (shown in hidden lines) on the firstsemiconductor die 102 a. In some embodiments, each of the semiconductordies 102 in the assembly 100 can include similar components and/or havesimilar configurations. For example, third measurement features 132 c(shown in hidden lines) can be formed on the third semiconductor die 102c and/or fourth measurement features 132 d (shown in hidden lines) canbe formed on the fourth semiconductor die 102 d. In some embodiments,the assembly 100 can also include other structures or features such as,for example: (i) a casing (e.g., a thermally conductive casing thatencloses the semiconductor dies 102 within an enclosure), (ii) anunderfill material deposited or otherwise formed around and/or betweenthe semiconductor dies 102, and/or (iii) a support substrate (e.g., aninterposer and/or a printed circuit board configured to operably couplethe semiconductor dies 102 to external circuitry).

FIGS. 2A and 2B are enlarged cross-sectional views showing severalinterconnects 104 of the semiconductor die assembly 100 at variousstages in a method of manufacture in accordance with embodiments of thepresent technology. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B together, in someembodiments, the conductive pads 110 can be coupled to or form a part ofa first redistribution structure 220 a at the second surface 103 b ofthe first semiconductor die 102 a. Similarly, in some embodiments, theconductive pillars 112 can be coupled to or form a part of a secondredistribution structure 220 b at the first side 103 a of the secondsemiconductor die 102 b. Each of the redistribution structures 220 caninclude various conductive features (e.g., metal traces and/or pads thatare coupled to one or more of the interconnects 104, the TSVs 108, etc.)and a passivation material (e.g., an oxide material) configured toprovide electrical isolation between the conductive features. In someembodiments, the first measurement features 132 a can be formed on thepassivation material of the first redistribution structure 220 a suchthat they are not electrically coupled to the TSVs 108 and/or othercomponents of the semiconductor dies 102. In some embodiments, theinterconnects 104 can also include barrier materials (not shown; e.g.,nickel, nickel-based intermetallic, and/or gold) formed over endportions of the conductive pillars 112 and/or the conductive pads 110.The barrier materials can facilitate bonding and/or prevent or at leastinhibit the electromigration of copper or other metals used to form theconductive pillars 112 and the conductive pads 110.

In FIG. 2A, the assembly 100 is illustrated at the beginning of athermo-compression bonding (TCB) operation, in which heating has causedthe bond material 114 in the interconnects 104 to reflow andelectrically connect the conductive pillars 112 and the conductive pads110. In the illustrated embodiment, at the beginning of the TCBoperation, the bond material 114 bridges a gap G (also known to thoseskilled in the art as a solder joint thickness) between the conductivepillars 112 and the conductive pads 110 that is larger than a desiredfinal amount. In some embodiments, the bond material 114 has a thicknessof between about 10-20 μm (e.g., about 15 μm) at the beginning of theTCB operation. In FIG. 2B, the assembly 100 is illustrated at thecompletion of the TCB operation, in which a compressive force has causedthe gap G bridged by the bond material 114 of the interconnects 104 tobe reduced. By cooling the assembly 100 at this point, the bond material114 can be solidified, securing the semiconductor dies 102 to oneanother. In some embodiments, the bond material 114 has a thickness ofbetween about 0-13 μm (e.g., about 6-8 μm) at the completion of the TCBoperation.

One drawback with the illustrated TCB operation is that significantvariation can exist in the solder joint thickness (i.e., the gap G) ofthe interconnects 104. For example, individual ones of the conductivepillars 112 may be anywhere from about 1-5 μm out of co-planar alignmentafter the TCB operation. Such variation can cause warpage of thesemiconductor dies 102 and cause the semiconductor dies 102 to be out ofparallel planar alignment. Moreover, it can be difficult to measure thesolder joint thickness and thus difficult to determine whether (i) adesired final thickness was achieved by the TCB operation, (ii) how muchthe semiconductor dies 102 may be warped, and/or (iii) a degree ofparallelism of the semiconductor dies 102. However, as described indetail below, these properties may be determined by detecting one ormore distances (e.g., separations) between the measurement features 132.

FIG. 3 is a top cross-sectional view of the semiconductor die assembly100 showing the second surface 103 b of the first semiconductor die 102a, the conductive pads 110, and the first measurement features 132 a. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the first measurement features 132a are disposed on the second surface 103 b of the first semiconductordie 103 a at a first region (e.g., an outer region 351) of the firstsemiconductor die 102 a that is proximate to a perimeter of the firstsemiconductor die 102 a. The conductive pads 110 are disposed on thesecond surface 103 b at a second region (e.g., an inner region 352) ofthe second semiconductor die 102 b that is inboard of the outer region351. That is, the first measurement features 132 a can be positioned onthe first semiconductor die 102 a outboard of the conductive pads 110and adjacent to a perimeter of the first semiconductor die 102 a. In theillustrated embodiment, the first measurement features 132 a have agenerally rectilinear cross-sectional shape while, in other embodiments,the first measurement features 132 a can have other cross-sectionalshapes (e.g., circular, oval, irregular, triangular, polygonal, etc.).For example, in some embodiments, the first measurement features 132 aand the conductive pads 110 can have substantially the same shape anddimensions.

As further shown in FIG. 3, the first semiconductor die 102 a can have arectangular planform shape having opposing first sides 307 a andopposing second sides 307 b (collectively “sides 307”), and the firstmeasurement features 132 a can be spaced along the outer region 351adjacent to each of the sides 307. In other embodiments, the firstmeasurement features 132 a can be spaced along the outer region 351adjacent to a different number of the sides 307 (e.g., along only one ofthe sides 307, along only the two first sides 307 a, along only the twosecond sides 307 b, along only one of the first sides 307 a and one ofthe second sides 307 b, along three of the sides 307, etc.). In anotheraspect of the illustrated embodiment, the first measurement features 132a are equally spaced and generally aligned (e.g., horizontally aligned)along the sides 307. In other embodiments, the first measurementfeatures 132 a can be spaced differently (e.g., having a varying spacingbetween adjacent ones of the first measurement features 132 a) and/orneed not be aligned with any corresponding ones of the first measurementfeatures 132 a adjacent a different one of the sides 307. Additionally,although nine first measurement features 132 a are shown adjacent toeach of the sides 307 in the illustrated embodiment, any number (e.g.,more or less than nine) of first measurement features 132 a can beformed along the sides 307 and/or a different number of firstmeasurement features 132 a can be formed along different ones of thesides 307. In some embodiments, the first measurement features 132 a canbe spaced apart from an adjacent side 307 of the first semiconductor die102 a by a distance of between about 50-5000 μm (e.g., between about2000-5000 μm). Moreover, each of the first measurement features 132 acan be spaced apart from an adjacent side 307 by the same orsubstantially the same distance.

In some embodiments, two or more of the first measurement features 132 acan be measured to, for example, determine whether the firstsemiconductor die 102 a includes cracks or other irregularities (e.g.,as a result of a TCB operation). For example, as described in furtherdetail below with reference to FIG. 5, one or more image capture devicescan capture an image of the first semiconductor die 102 a (e.g., animage of the second surface 103 b), the first measurement features 132 acan be detected in the captured image, and the image can be analyzed to(i) determine one or more distances DA between opposing pairs of thefirst measurement features 132 a along the opposing first sides 307 aand/or (ii) one or more distances D_(B) between opposing pairs of thefirst measurement features 132 a along the opposing second sides 307 b.Cracks or other irregularities can be determined based on variation ofthe measured distances DA and/or D_(B) from a known separation of thefirst measurement features 132 a when the first semiconductor die 102 ais undamaged, and/or based on variation within the measured distances DAand/or D_(B).

The foregoing description is illustrative of some embodiments of thepresent technology in which the first semiconductor die 102 a has agenerally rectangular planform shape. In general, however, the firstmeasurement features 132 a can be disposed along the entire perimeter ora portion of the perimeter of the first semiconductor die 102 a inaccordance with the configuration of the first semiconductor die 102 a.For example, where the first semiconductor die 102 a has a generallycircular planform shape, the first measurement features 132 a can bedisposed in an arc along the entire perimeter of the first semiconductordie 102 a, along opposing portions of the perimeter, along a singleportion of the perimeter, etc. The second through fourth measurementfeatures 132 b-132 d (FIG. 1) can be formed (e.g., disposed on) thesecond through fourth semiconductor dies 102 b-102 d, respectively, in ageneral similar manner as the first measurement features 132 a. Incertain embodiments, the measurement features 132 can be substantiallyidentical and/or identically arranged on each of the semiconductor dies102.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the semiconductor die assembly 100 includingthe four semiconductor dies 102 a-102 d having the measurement features132 a-132 d, respectively, formed thereon. The interconnects 104 areomitted in FIG. 4 for purposes of clarity. In the illustratedembodiment, the measurement features 132 are vertically aligned (e.g.,superimposed over one another) within the assembly 100 and are visibleat the side of the assembly 100. Distances between pairs of themeasurement features 132 can be measured to determine the die-to-dieseparations of the semiconductor dies 102. For example, as described infurther detail below with reference to FIG. 5, one or more image capturedevices can capture an image(s) of the semiconductor die assembly 100,the measurement features 132 can be detected in the captured image(s),and the image(s) analyzed to determine one or more distances between twoor more of the measurement features 132. In the illustrated embodiment,for example, the separation between the first and fourth semiconductordies 102 a, 102 d can be determined based on measured distances D₁between adjacent, vertically aligned pairs of the first and fourthmeasurement features 132 a, 132 d. Similarly, the separation between thefirst and second semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 b can be determined basedon measured distances D₂ between adjacent, vertically aligned pairs ofthe first and second measurement features 132 a, 132 b. Likewise, theseparation between the second and third semiconductor dies 102 b, 102 ccan be determined based on measured distances D₃ between adjacent,vertically aligned pairs of the second and third measurement features132 b, 132 c.

In some embodiments, the thickness of the semiconductor dies 102 can begenerally known (e.g., between about 50-80 μm) such that the measureddistances D₁, D₂, and/or D₃ correspond to a thickness (e.g., a bond linethickness) of the interconnects 104. Likewise, in some embodiments, thethickness of the conductive pillars 112 and conductive pads 110 can begenerally known—both before and after a TCB operation—such that themeasured distances D₁, D₂, and/or D₃ correspond to a thickness of thebond material 114. Although the measurement features 132 are generallyvertically aligned within the assembly 100 in the illustratedembodiment, in some embodiments, the measurement features 132 are notvertically aligned. Moreover, in certain embodiments, the measurementfeatures 132 are not visible at the side of the assembly 100 after anunderfill or mold material is deposited or otherwise formed around thesemiconductor dies 102.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a system 550 for detecting measurementfeatures and measuring semiconductor die assemblies in accordance withembodiments of the present technology. The system 550 can include one ormore image capture devices 560 operatively coupled to a controller 570and positioned adjacent to an assembly transport (e.g., an actuator) 580carrying a plurality of semiconductor die assemblies having measurementfeatures such as, for example, the assemblies 100 described in detailabove. The assembly transport 580 can be configured to move theassemblies 100 toward and/or past the image capture devices 560, forexample, by moving the assemblies 100 along the direction of axis X. Insome embodiments, the assemblies 100 can be manufactured in a strip formsuch that they can be translated pass the image capture devices 560 oneat a time. In other embodiments, the assemblies 100 can be manufacturedin discrete package form, matrix form, wafer form, and/or panel form andthe assembly transport 580 can be configured to move the discretepackage, matrix, wafer, and/or panel past the image capture devices 560.In other embodiments, the image capture devices 560 can be configured tomove relative to the assemblies 100.

The controller 570 can include a processor 572 coupled to a memory 574and an input/output component 576. The processor 572 can be amicroprocessor, a field-programmable gate array, and/or other suitablelogic devices. The memory 574 can include volatile and/or nonvolatilemedia (e.g., ROM, RAM, magnetic disk storage media, optical storagemedia, flash memory devices, etc.) and/or other types ofcomputer-readable storage media configured to store data. The memory 574can store algorithms for detecting measurement features, imageprocessing, image filtering, etc., that can be executed by the processor572. In some embodiments, the processor 572 can send data to a computingdevice operatively coupled (e.g., over the Internet) to the controller570, such as a server or personal computer. The input/output component576 can include a display, a touch screen, a keyboard, a mouse, and/orother suitable types of input/output devices configured to accept inputfrom and provide output to an operator.

In the illustrated embodiment, the system 550 includes two image capturedevices 560 positioned at an imaging station 565 and each having anillumination source 562 and an image sensor 564. As shown, the imagecapture devices 560 can be positioned along an axis Y and can facedifferent sides of an assembly 100 positioned at the imaging station565. In some embodiments, the image capture devices 560 can each bepositioned a known distance D from the assembly 100. The illuminationsource 562 is configured to illuminate (e.g., with visible light,infrared radiation, UV light, etc.) the assembly 100 while the imagesensor 564 is configured to capture light reflected from the assembly100 and send the captured imaging data to the controller 570, where itis stored in the memory 574, processed by the processor 572, and/or sentto the input/output component 576. In some embodiments, the image sensor564 is configured to capture radiation that is not in the visiblespectrum, such as UV light or infrared radiation. Alternatively, theimage sensor 564 can capture imaging data of the assembly 100 positionedat the imaging station 565 in both the visible and nonvisible radiationspectrums and send this imaging data to the controller 570. Although notshown in FIG. 1, the image sensor 564 can include a lens, aperture,image sensing component, digital signal processor, and/or analog ordigital output.

Although the image sensor 564 is shown next to the illumination source562 in FIG. 5, in some embodiments the image sensor 564 and illuminationsource 562 can have different configurations, and/or the image capturedevices 560 may omit the illumination source 562. Moreover, in certainembodiments, the system 550 can include one, or more than the twoillustrated image capture devices 560, and the image capture devices 560can be positioned differently with respect to the assembly transport580. For example, in certain embodiments, the system 550 includes anadditional image capture device 560 positioned above the imaging station565 (e.g., along an axis Z) and configured to face a top of the assembly100 positioned at the imaging station 565. In some such embodiments, theimage capture device 560 positioned above the assembly 100 can captureimages of the measurement features on a single semiconductor die of theassembly 100 (e.g., the first measurement features 132 a illustrated inFIG. 3) and, for example, the processor 572 can process the images todetermine whether the single semiconductor die is cracked, as describedin detail above.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a process or method 690 for detecting andmeasuring a dimension of a semiconductor die assembly in accordance withembodiments of the present technology. The method 690 can beimplemented, for example, using the system 550 to measure thesemiconductor die assembly 100 described in detail above with referenceto FIGS. 1-5. For example, the image capture devices 560 and/or thecontroller 570 can be used to perform the various steps of the method690. Accordingly, for sake of illustration, some features of the method690 will be described in the context of the embodiments shown in FIGS.1-5.

Beginning at block 692, the method 690 comprises receiving an image ofthe semiconductor die assembly 100. For example, one or more of theimage capture devices 560 can capture imaging data of the assembly 100when the assembly 100 is positioned at the imaging station 565, and thecontroller 570 can receive the imaging data from the image capturedevices 560.

At block 694, the method 690 includes detecting a plurality of firstmeasurement features in the image. For example, the processor 572 canprocess the imaging data to detect a portion of the measurement features132 formed on one of the semiconductor dies 102 in the assembly (e.g.,the portion of the first measurement features 132 a spaced along one ofthe sides 307 of the first semiconductor die 102 a). At block 696, themethod 690 includes detecting a plurality of second measurement featuresin the image. For example, the processor 572 can process the imagingdata to detect a portion of the measurement features 132 formed on asecond one of the semiconductor dies 102 in the assembly (e.g., theportion of the second measurement features 132 b spaced along one of thesides 307 of the second semiconductor die 102 b). Notably, the processor572 can reliably identify the measurement features 132 in the imagingdata because the measurement features 132 are positioned near theperimeter of the assembly 100.

At block 698, the method 690 includes determining a distance between atleast one first measurement feature and at least one second measurementfeature. In some embodiments, the distance (e.g., the distance D₂) canbe calculated based on the known distance D between the image capturedevices 560 and the assembly 100. In some embodiments, the image sensors564 of the image capture devices 560 are configured to autofocus at thefixed distance D, and the distance between the at least one firstmeasurement feature and the at least one second measurement feature canbe determined based on a pixel separation between the measurementfeatures and a known pixel size. As described in detail above, thedetermined distance can be used to estimate a bond line thicknessbetween two or more of the semiconductor dies 102 in the assembly 100(e.g., between the first and second semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 b).

In some embodiments, the method 690 can be repeated and/or extended todetermine die-to-die separations for each semiconductor die 102 in theassembly 100. For example, in some embodiments, the method 690 can beperformed after all of the semiconductor dies 102 in the assembly arestacked (e.g., attached together via successive TCB operations). Inother embodiments, the method 690 can be performed after each successivesemiconductor die 102 is stacked (e.g., after each individual TCBoperation).

The method 690 advantageously provides for the measurement of asemiconductor die assembly quickly (e.g., immediately after a TCBoperation to stack semiconductor dies) and without requiring a physicalmeasurement of the assembly. A physical measurement of the die-to-dieseparation is often not accurate due to the chipping of thesemiconductor die edges caused by singulation. Thus, conventionaltechniques for measuring die-to-die separation and/or the quality of aTCB operation typically require electrical testing of the completedassemblies and/or mechanical cross sections of representative ones ofthe assemblies. Electrical testing often cannot be performed until afterthe die-stacking process and the completion of the semiconductor dieassembly. Thus, such testing risks deviation in the materials afterdie-stacking and reduces yield/increases cost since further processingsteps may be carried out even where the TCB operation was not of therequired quality. Similarly, material cross-sections are destructive andcannot be used to test every one of the assemblies. Accordingly,embodiments of the present technology are expected to increase the yieldand reduce the cost of manufacturing semiconductor die assemblies.

In accordance with another aspect of the present technology, themeasured distances between the measurement features 132 can be used asfeedback in a TCB operation to further simplify and improve the qualityof the TCB operation. For example, referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, duringa TCB operation, a force can be applied to two or more of thesemiconductor dies 102 (e.g., the first and second semiconductor dies102 a, 102 b) while the bond materials 114 in the interconnects 104 arereflowed. The die-to-die separation measured using the measurementfeatures 132 can be used to determine the gap G between at least some ofthe conductive pads 110 and the conductive pillars 112 (e.g., based onthe known thickness of the semiconductor dies 102, the conductive pads110, and the conductive pillars 112). For example, in one embodiment,one or more of the image capture devices 560 of the system 550 (FIG. 5)can capture imaging data of the assembly 100 during the TCB operationand the processor 572 can process the imaging data in real-time or nearreal-time to determine the gap G. Such feedback can improve theconsistency and quality of TCB operations by substantially ensuring thatthe gap G is within a desired range at the end of a TCB operation.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4 together, in some embodiments, the measured bondline thicknesses of the assembly 100 can be used to determine an amountof warpage of the semiconductor dies 102, a degree of parallelism of thesemiconductor dies 102, and/or other properties of the semiconductor dieassembly 100. In particular, because the assembly 100 includes multiplemeasurement features 132 spaced along one or more of the sides 307 ofthe semiconductor dies 102, the assembly 100 allows for data withsufficient resolution to show curvature across a dimension of thesemiconductor dies 102. For example, FIGS. 7A-7C are graphs illustratingbond line thickness data for the semiconductor die assembly 100 betweenthe first and fourth semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 d, between the firstand second semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 b, and between the second andthird semiconductor dies 102 b, 102 c, respectively, in accordance withembodiments of the present technology. The x-axis in FIGS. 7A-7Crepresents a measurement derived from each pair of nine verticallyaligned measurement features 132 on the adjacent semiconductor dies 102.The x-axis further includes measurements from opposing first and secondsides of the semiconductor dies 102 (e.g., from the opposing first sides307 a or the opposing second sides 307 b). The y-axis in FIGS. 7A-7Crepresents the bond line thickness (e.g., the thickness of theinterconnects 104) measured in microns.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7A, the data of bond linethickness between the first and fourth semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 dindicates that the semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 d are slightly warpedand/or slightly out of planar alignment since the bond line thicknessincreases slightly (e.g., by about 1-2 μm) toward the middle of thefirst and second sides. Moreover, the data indicates that thesemiconductor dies 102 a, 102 d may not be significantly warped in adirection extending between the first and second sides since the bondline thickness measurements are generally constant between the first andsecond sides (e.g., corresponding data points for the first and secondsides generally have the same magnitude).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7B, the data of bond linethickness between the first and second semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 bindicates that the semiconductor dies 102 a, 102 b are significantlywarped and/or out of parallel alignment since the bond line thicknessincreases significantly (e.g., by about 3-4 μm) toward the middle of thefirst and second sides. Again, the data indicates that the semiconductordies 102 a, 102 b may not be significantly warped in a directionextending between the first and second sides since the bond linethickness measurements are generally constant between the first andsecond sides. Notably, in each of FIGS. 7A and 7B, any warpage of thesemiconductor dies 102 may not be detectable using only the measurementfeatures 132 positioned near a corner of the semiconductor dies 102(e.g., the pairs of measurement features represented on the x-axis bythe numbers “1,” “9,” “10,” and “18”), since those data points suggest agenerally constant bond line thickness (e.g., about 30 μm in FIG. 7A andabout 28 μm in FIG. 7B). Accordingly, by spacing the measurementfeatures 132 along the first and second sides of the semiconductor dies102, the present technology enables a higher resolution and more robustanalysis of bond line thicknesses.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7C, the data of bond linethickness between the second and third semiconductor dies 102 b, 102 cindicates that the semiconductor dies 102 b, 102 c are not significantlywarped and/or are generally in parallel alignment since the bond linethickness is generally constant (e.g., about 33 μm) along the first andsecond sides. In certain embodiments, the relatively high bond linethickness may indicate that the bond material 114 did not collapse much,and therefore that the TCB operation was of lesser quality.

Any one of the semiconductor devices having the features described above(e.g., with reference to FIGS. 1-4) can be incorporated into any of amyriad of larger and/or more complex systems, a representative exampleof which is system 800 shown schematically in FIG. 8. The system 800 caninclude a processor 802, a memory 804 (e.g., SRAM, DRAM, flash, and/orother memory devices), input/output devices 805, and/or other subsystemsor components 808. The semiconductor dies and semiconductor dieassemblies described above can be included in any of the elements shownin FIG. 8. The resulting system 800 can be configured to perform any ofa wide variety of suitable computing, processing, storage, sensing,imaging, and/or other functions. Accordingly, representative examples ofthe system 800 include, without limitation, computers and/or other dataprocessors, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, Internetappliances, hand-held devices (e.g., palm-top computers, wearablecomputers, cellular or mobile phones, personal digital assistants, musicplayers, etc.), tablets, multi-processor systems, processor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network computers, and minicomputers.Additional representative examples of the system 800 include lights,cameras, vehicles, etc. With regard to these and other example, thesystem 800 can be housed in a single unit or distributed over multipleinterconnected units, e.g., through a communication network. Thecomponents of the system 800 can accordingly include local and/or remotememory storage devices and any of a wide variety of suitablecomputer-readable media.

The above detailed descriptions of embodiments of the technology are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the technology to the precise formdisclosed above. Although specific embodiments of, and examples for, thetechnology are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of thetechnology, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Forexample, while steps are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform steps in a different order. Moreover, thevarious embodiments described herein may also be combined to providefurther embodiments. Reference herein to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar formulations means that a particular feature,structure, operation, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the presenttechnology. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or formulations hereinare not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Certain aspects of the present technology may take the form ofcomputer-executable instructions, including routines executed by acontroller or other data processor. In some embodiments, a controller orother data processor is specifically programmed, configured, and/orconstructed to perform one or more of these computer-executableinstructions. Furthermore, some aspects of the present technology maytake the form of data (e.g., non-transitory data) stored or distributedon computer-readable media, including magnetic or optically readableand/or removable computer discs as well as media distributedelectronically over networks. Accordingly, data structures andtransmissions of data particular to aspects of the present technologyare encompassed within the scope of the present technology. The presenttechnology also encompasses methods of both programmingcomputer-readable media to perform particular steps and executing thesteps.

Moreover, unless the word “or” is expressly limited to mean only asingle item exclusive from the other items in reference to a list of twoor more items, then the use of “or” in such a list is to be interpretedas including (a) any single item in the list, (b) all of the items inthe list, or (c) any combination of the items in the list. Where thecontext permits, singular or plural terms may also include the plural orsingular term, respectively. Additionally, the term “comprising” is usedthroughout to mean including at least the recited feature(s) such thatany greater number of the same feature and/or additional types of otherfeatures are not precluded. Directional terms, such as “upper,” “lower,”“front,” “back,” “vertical,” and “horizontal,” may be used herein toexpress and clarify the relationship between various elements. It shouldbe understood that such terms do not denote absolute orientation.Further, while advantages associated with certain embodiments of thetechnology have been described in the context of those embodiments,other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not allembodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages to fall within thescope of the technology. Accordingly, the disclosure and associatedtechnology can encompass other embodiments not expressly shown ordescribed herein.

I/We claim:
 1. A method of measuring a dimension of a semiconductor dieassembly including a first semiconductor die and a second semiconductordie stacked over the first semiconductor die, the method comprising:receiving an image of the semiconductor die assembly; detecting aplurality of first measurement features in the image, wherein the firstmeasurement features are metal markers positioned proximate to a side ofthe first semiconductor die; detecting a plurality of second measurementfeatures in the image, wherein the second measurement features are metalmarkers positioned proximate to a side of the second semiconductor die;and determining a distance between at least one first measurementfeature and at least one second measurement feature.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: capturing the image with an image capturedevice; and determining the distance between the at least one firstmeasurement feature and the at least one second measurement featurebased on a known distance between the image capture device and thesemiconductor die assembly.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the atleast one first measurement feature and the at least one secondmeasurement feature are vertically aligned.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising, based on the distance between the at least one firstmeasurement feature and the at least one second measurement feature,determining a thickness of an interconnect extending between the firstand second semiconductor dies.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein theimage is a first image, wherein the side of the first semiconductor dieis a first side, wherein the side of the second semiconductor die is asecond side, and wherein the method further comprises: receiving asecond image of the semiconductor die assembly; detecting a plurality ofthird measurement features in the second image, wherein the thirdmeasurement features are metal markers positioned proximate to a secondside of the first semiconductor die; detecting a plurality of fourthmeasurement features in the second image, wherein the fourth measurementfeatures are metal markers positioned proximate to a second side of thesecond semiconductor die; and determining a distance between at leastone third measurement feature and at least one fourth measurementfeature.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first and second sides ofthe first semiconductor die are substantially parallel, and wherein thefirst and second sides of the second semiconductor die are substantiallyparallel.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein the first and second sides ofthe first semiconductor die are substantially perpendicular, and whereinthe first and second sides of the second semiconductor die aresubstantially perpendicular.
 8. A method of manufacturing asemiconductor die assembly, comprising: forming a plurality of firstconductive pads on an inner portion of a surface of a firstsemiconductor die, the first conductive pads electrically coupled tothrough silicon vias (TSVs) extending through the first semiconductordie; while forming the first conductive pads, forming a plurality offirst measurement features on an outer portion of the surface of thefirst semiconductor die; forming a plurality of second conductive padson an inner portion of a surface of a second semiconductor die; whileforming the plurality of second conductive pads, forming a plurality ofsecond measurement features on an outer portion of the surface of thesecond semiconductor die; and stacking the second semiconductor die overthe first semiconductor die.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein thesurface of the second semiconductor die is a first surface, and whereinstacking the second semiconductor die over the first semiconductor dieincludes thermocompression-bonding the first conductive pads tocorresponding conductive pillars on an inner portion of a second surfaceof the second semiconductor die.
 10. The method of claim 8 whereinstacking the second semiconductor die over the first semiconductor dieincludes vertically aligning the first measurement features withcorresponding ones of the second measurement features.
 11. The method ofclaim 8 wherein forming the first measurement features includes formingthe first measurement features to not be electrically coupled to thefirst semiconductor die, and wherein forming the second measurementfeatures includes forming the second measurement features to not beelectrically coupled to the second semiconductor die.
 12. The method ofclaim 8 wherein each of the first measurement features is spaced apartfrom an edge of the first semiconductor die by a distance of about 2000μm to 5000 μm, and wherein each of the second measurement features isspaced apart from an edge of the second semiconductor die by a distanceof about 2000 μm to 5000 μm.
 13. The method of claim 8 wherein formingthe first conductive pads and the first measurement features includesforming the first conductive pads and the first measurement from a samemetal material.
 14. The method of claim 8 wherein forming the firstconductive pads and the first measurement features includes forming thefirst conductive pads and the first measurement from the same metalmaterial, and wherein forming the second conductive pads and the secondmeasurement features includes forming the second conductive pads and thesecond measurement from a same metal material.
 15. A method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor die assembly, comprising: forming aplurality of first conductive pads on an inner portion of a surface of afirst semiconductor die, the first conductive pads formed from a firstmaterial; forming a plurality of first measurement features on an outerportion of the surface of the first semiconductor die, the firstmeasurement features formed from the first material; forming a pluralityof second conductive pads on an inner portion of a surface of a secondsemiconductor die, the second conductive pads formed from a secondmaterial; forming a plurality of second measurement features on an outerportion of the surface of the second semiconductor die, the secondmeasurement features formed from the second material; and stacking thesecond semiconductor die over the first semiconductor die.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 wherein stacking the second semiconductor die overthe first semiconductor die includes vertically aligning the firstmeasurement features with corresponding ones of the second measurementfeatures.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein forming the firstmeasurement features includes forming the first measurement features tonot be electrically coupled to the first semiconductor die, and whereinforming the second measurement features includes forming the secondmeasurement features to not be electrically coupled to the secondsemiconductor die.
 18. The method of claim 15 wherein the surface of thefirst semiconductor die is an upper surface of the first semiconductordie, and wherein the surface of the second semiconductor die is an uppersurface of the first semiconductor die.
 19. The method of claim 15wherein forming the first measurement features includes forming each ofthe first measurement features to be spaced apart from an edge of thefirst semiconductor die by a distance that is substantially the same.20. The method of claim 15 wherein forming the first conductive pads andthe first measurement features includes forming the first conductivepads and the first measurement features to have a thickness that issubstantially the same, and wherein forming the second conductive padsand the second measurement features includes forming the secondconductive pads and the second measurement features to have a thicknessthat is substantially the same.